tearing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of tearingnext
as in cutting

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tearing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of tear
1
as in ripping
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it angrily tore the letter to shreds

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in yanking
to separate or remove by forceful pulling tore the book from his hand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in hurrying
to proceed or move quickly she tore out of the room as soon as the phone started to ring

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tearing
Adjective
By acting as a biomechanical bridge, soft enough for muscle, strong enough for rigid parts, the tendons eliminate the tearing and detachment problems that have plagued previous designs. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025
Verb
The technique works best on blooms with soft petals that are large enough to gently manipulate without tearing or bruising. — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 18 July 2026 This is not about tearing everything down for the thrill of it. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026 Stretching the soft, elastic dough requires subtle adjustments in pressure and movement to avoid tearing or dropping it—something that even novice human cooks find difficult. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 17 July 2026 Pocic missed 11 games for the Browns over the four seasons, including four last year after tearing his Achilles in a Week 14 loss to the Tennessee Titans. — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 17 July 2026 The wildfires tearing across Canada are so extreme that the smoke billowing upward can be seen from space. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 17 July 2026 Let’s commit to pausing tearing each other down before ripping up and rewriting our stories and objects. — Tara Sonenshine, Baltimore Sun, 11 July 2026 Both the military and the general public read it voraciously, desperate to understand the war tearing their young utopia apart. — Madeleine Wulfahrt, New Yorker, 8 July 2026 Crews are putting finishing touches on mall buildings after tearing them down to the studs, treating the wood and rebuilding the walls, Caruso said. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearing
  1. penetrating
  2. ripping
  3. yanking
  4. hurrying
  5. biting
  6. grabbing
  7. speeding
  8. stinging
Adjective
  • One spring day in Paris many years ago, my wife, Diana, a most penetrating photographer, capable of seeing like no one else, decided, as an experiment, to walk across the city blindfolded.
    — Hisham Matar, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
  • Since the war began in Gaza, more than six months ago, the Israeli magazine +972 has published some of the most penetrating reporting on the Israel Defense Forces’ conduct.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
Definition of penetrating
Verb
  • Videos ​released by state media in the afternoon showed flames ripping through the building and thick black smoke billowing into ​the sky.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 9 July 2026
  • Shortly after Thursday’s meeting, Johnson released a statement ripping the committee for not letting voters have their say on the millionaire tax.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
Definition of ripping
Verb
  • Pinned beneath her rotting legs in his recliner chair, Loftis narrowly escapes by yanking its lever, catapulting the hag over his head.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
  • Video also showed the man climbing onto the roof of the car and yanking pieces of the LiDAR sensor that sits on the roof of Waymo cars and helps the vehicles map and navigate.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026
Definition of yanking
Verb
  • Set over the course of eight years (including the lockdown period during COVID), Herry’s film unfolds fluidly, neither hurrying scenes up unnecessarily, nor lingering too long on any incident.
    — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 17 May 2026
  • No point hurrying toward a resolution that was always receding.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of hurrying
Adjective
  • The pacing is more frenetic, the narration more biting, the flashbacks more jarring, and the comedowns much harsher.
    — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
  • Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026
Definition of biting
Verb
  • Permethrin is a spray that works on clothing and gear to keep ticks from grabbing you, but do not put it directly on your skin!
    — Amanda Roome, The Conversation, 16 July 2026
  • As recently as 2021, he was accused of grabbing the mother of one of his children and throwing her to the ground.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of grabbing
Verb
  • Using a supercomputer, Northrop’s team modelled a hypothetical version of each trip without speeding—an intimidating data processing task that took years.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 16 July 2026
  • Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota showed both low speeding prevalence and speed excess.
    — Alexa St. John, Fortune, 16 July 2026
Definition of speeding
Adjective
  • The researchers' device aims to solve the stinging problem by physically preventing this meeting (unfortunately no images of it are available at this time).
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 June 2026
  • Since September of 2024, federal science agencies in the US have axed nearly 120,000 employees, in a stinging loss for public research.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 25 June 2026
Definition of stinging

Browse Nearby Words

tearful
tearing
tearing down
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Cite this Entry

“Tearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearing. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on tearing

Nglish: Translation of tearing for Spanish Speakers

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